Verizon slash KIN pricing; new firmware due this summer

Verizon has quietly slashed pricing for the Microsoft KIN handsets, bringing the pebble-shaped KIN One down to $29.99 from its previous $49.99 pricing and the larger KIN Two halved in price from $99.99 to $49.99. The move follows criticism of the featurephone/smartphone devices together with apparently disappointing sales figures; Microsoft is yet to confirm any numbers publicly, but sources at Verizon stores claim that the KIN handsets are being outsold by DROID and Palm Pre Plus phones.

Verizon are also running a buy-one-get-one-free offer where you get two of the KIN devices for the price of one; unfortunately you'll still be paying full smartphone data tariffs for each device, despite the featurephone functionality.

Meanwhile an incoming KIN update due this summer will apparently address many owners complaints. According to a KIN support moderator, that update could include improved Twitter functionality - such as being able to reply to or retweet messages from within the KIN app - together with stability fixes and YouTube video access.